About me

A different kind of therapyHello and thank you for arriving at change your life. Here you will find the latest up to date techniques based on neuro-science, a laid back approach that is non judgmental and a safe, tranquil environment. The first step is always the hardest …. The step of decision. Perhaps you have been wanting to make changes for some time but somehow felt too busy, got side tracked or weren’t ready?Maybe you were put off because you’ve had enough of talking about your problems through counselling but weren’t experiencing any long lasting changes. You want change but do not want it to be a long drawn out process where it’s never ending?My approach at Change Your life is to coach you into getting the results you need where we will work together in order to achieve that, safely and proficiently with long lasting changes so you get the life you want.As a qualified Hypnotherapist and certified practitioner in Havening and a master practitioner in NLP I use a blend of therapies that work on psychology and neuroscience. to be able to guide and support you to make those long lasting changes.

What I use.Therapeutic TechniquesI use a blend of therapies to help clear the pathway for positive changes to occur that are unique and personal to you.NLPWhat is NLP?Neuro Linquistic Programming is a technique that was invented by Dr Richard Bandler in the 1970s and is "a system of alternative therapy based on educating people in self awareness and effective communication to change patterns of mental and emotional behaviour”. Its like .learning the language of your mind … it is getting the unconscious mind (which is the tricky part) to understand what it is you want so it can help bring about positive changes for you. The 1970’s provided important break throughs in neuroscience and what Dr Bandler found through his research was people were getting over their phobias, anxieties and fears far quicker using his methods.His methods are what we use in NLP today which helps you to understand the workings of the mind better, help communicate better with yourself and others, help eliminate fears and phobias so you can go on to live a more fulfilled and happier life.

HypnotherapyWhat is Hypnotherapy?There are many myths surrounding hypnotherapy due to the way that stage hypnosis is portrayed through the media and using language, such as ‘going under’, ‘being out of control’, the perception of being manipulated to do things you don’t want to do. The reality is that hypnosis was pioneered by medical doctors and physicians and when used positively can be an effective tool to combat anxiety, depression and help overcome phobias. They learned that relaxing patients into an altered state of mind or trance heightened focus and concentration showing an increased response to suggestion, whilst blocking out sources of distraction. This in turn helped people heal, deal with pain, anxiety in a positive way. Hypnosis is natural in many ways as we all go into a ‘trance’ state on occasions when driving, reading, listening to music – ever forget driving down that part of the motorway or carriageway? We can drift off in lectures, meetings, just walking without realising that our sub conscious mind has taken over. The brain is made up of the conscious and subconscious mind. Hypnotherapy works on the subconscious mind where you will feel relaxed and calm and ready to bring about the positive changes in your life.

HaveningHavening is a term used to create a ‘safe’ haven in a therapeutic setting to help release an encoded traumatic memory or a deep rooted emotion safely and quickly. Havening is based on neuroscience and how a traumatic memory is encoded differently to normal memory where it can sit on the brain where the client remembers it vividly or it can hide where the person feels the emotion but is unable to retrieve the event. Havening is a psychosensory technique working with the electrochemical mechanism in the brain. During 16 years of research it was found that by stimulating delta waves in the brain can help alter the way a previously traumatic memory is held and helps it to ‘decode’ to a memory that you have control over. When delta waves are stimulated in the brain through way of stroking the arm, face and palms of the hands, this helps induce serotonin, the neurotransmitter essential for our mental health which gives us a feeling of wellbeing. The brain cannot hold two conflicting emotions at once so the previous traumatic memory that was encoded initially becomes depotentiated through the deltawave stimulation leaving you feeling calmer, lighter. When underlying traumas are lifted people can feel able to move forward with their lives. There is much research in how underlying trauma can be at the root cause of addiction, so Havening provides a powerful tool in not only alleviating trauma but also to treat phobias, emotional wellbeing, anxiety and depression

Although we can make changes very quickly, it’s the lasting changing in our behaviour that create the success. In our very interactive quick changing world it is very easy to give up on something if you don’t get immediate results. We can make rapid changes quickly but we can just as quickly revert back to old habits. The more we repeat something the more we give strength to that neural pathway in the brain, making it difficult to change our behaviour. The reason people feel they are failing is due to the myth that it takes 21 days to break a habit. In fact this is untrue as ‘The European Journal of Psychology’ found that it took on average 66 days to form a habit so there’s no need to judge yourself if you are not mastering a behaviour straight away. It is unrealistic and not in conjunction with how your brain operates. Treating failure as learning and giving yourself permission to make mistakes and developing strategies, will help get you back on track quickly. Don’t kid yourself that it wont work and give up ! Would you go to the gym once and declare it didn’t work because your body was still the same? Would you plant a seed in the garden and go back a week later wondering where your flower was? Of course not .. this is where you really have to allow yourself the time to change especially if you are trying to lose weight… it takes time for the weight to come off. Whether it is 66 days or 600 days you have to put in the work. Remember it’s the smallest differences that bring about the biggest changes.

Training, qualifications & experience

Why Karen?

I was inspired to learn from the very best in my field and I am privilged to have personally been trained by the founder members of Havening, Dr Ron Ruden and Dr Steve Ruden to become a certified Havening Practitioner as well as being coached by the founder member of NLP Dr Richard Bandler and well know hypnotist Paul McKenna to become a master NLP Practitioner.

I studied hypnosis at the nationally accredited Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training School in Bristol which is renowed for its excellence. I believe that everyone has the ability to make the changes they need in order to get the life they want - my aim is to guide you in the right direction to achieve just that. I am a member of the National Council of Hypnotherapists and adhere to the strict code of ethics. I am constantly developing my area of expertise and I am in my 5th year of studying a Bsc Hons in psychology

My clients have included people from all walks of life and I have coached them through a huge variety of circumstances. I have the skills and flexibility to adapt to a style that is suitable for your requirements as well as specialising in a variety of areas. Qualifed psychotherapist/hypnotherapist, DHP, certified practitoner in Havening, master practitioner in NLP, MNCH, ASFH.Please see my website for further information.

* If you have been diagnosed or suspect you may have one of the medical conditions starred above, you should consult your GP
for advice, diagnosis and treatment and always inform your health professional before starting any alternative or additional therapies or
treatments.

Other areas of hypnotherapy I deal with

Specialising in helping people overcome trauma and addictive behaviour.

Although we can make changes very quickly, it’s the lasting changing in our behaviour that create the success. In our very interactive quick changing world it is very easy to give up on something if you don’t get immediate results.

We can make rapid changes quickly but we can just as quickly revert back to old habits. The more we repeat something the more we give strength to that neural pathway in the brain, making it difficult to change our behaviour.

The reason people feel they are failing is due to the myth that it takes 21 days to break a habit. In fact this is untrue as ‘The European Journal of Psychology’ found that it took on average 66 days to form a habit so there’s no need to judge yourself if you are not mastering a behaviour straight away. It is unrealistic and not in conjunction with how your brain operates.

Treating failure as learning and giving yourself permission to make mistakes and developing strategies, will help get you back on track quickly. Don’t kid yourself that it wont work and give up ! Would you go to the gym once and declare it didn’t work because your body was still the same? Would you plant a seed in the garden and go back a week later wondering where your flower was? Of course not .. this is where you really have to allow yourself the time to change especially if you are trying to lose weight… it takes time for the weight to come off. Whether it is 66 days or 600 days you have to put in the work. Remember it’s the smallest differences that bring about the biggest changes.So how many sessions does it take?Managing expectation can be tricky, however my aim is to help people make long lasting changes as effectively and as quickly as possible.Everyone is unique and in dividual and it really is up to you to decide what you want your outcome to be.This research acts as a guideline …but only you know how you feel!

Research carried out by Michael Lambert in the Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behaviour Change looked at how long it took for a client to start feeling better after beginning therapy. Amazingly, it showed that 30% of people enjoyed “lasting benefit after only 3 sessions” in therapy. 50% showed improvement after just 8 sessions, and 75% after 14 sessions.